


Graduation

by Kissesdragons



Category: Shelter (2007)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-20 16:41:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6016954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kissesdragons/pseuds/Kissesdragons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cody graduates from high school and his parents throw him a party.  Cody POV.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Graduation

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The movie Shelter, Zach, and Shaun belong to Here! Films, not to me. This story is not for profit. No copywrite infringement is intended

“Cody Hanson,” the vice principal announced, and Cody stepped onto the stage, his heart pounding. Shaking hands with the principal Cody accepted his diploma and walked to the edge of the stage before glancing out at the audience. His parents and little sister were cheering wildly, but he couldn’t even be embarrassed. He had never seen them look so proud. 

He walked back to his seat and let out a breath of relief that it was over and he was finally a high school graduate. The next twenty minutes seemed to drag by, but finally the principal stepped up to the microphone and said “I give you the class of 2022.” Cody stood up with the rest of his classmates and they all tossed their caps into the air, their cheers deafening.

He started making his way toward his family, but he was stopped every few feet by his classmates, double checking details about the graduation party his parents were throwing him that night. “Yeah man, it starts at 9,” he answered yet again, before finally reaching the edge of the crowd.

“Cody!” his dad cried, grabbing him in a bear hug. “I’m so proud of you.” 

Cody smiled at the feeling of his little sister’s arms wrapping around his waist and his Pop’s arms circling all three of them. “Great job kiddo,” his dad whispered, placing smacking kiss on his cheek.

“Thanks Zach, Shaun,” he answered, squeezing them tight. “Let’s get out of here while we still can.”

“You sure?” Shaun asked. “We can stay a while if you want to hang with your friends.”

“Naw, they’ll all be at the house in a few hours anyway,” Cody answered, waving at several of his classmates as they walked by.

As they got in the car and started toward home Cody’s phone rang. “Hello?”

“Hey Baby. Congratulations!”

“Thanks Mom,” he answered, trying not to roll his eyes at the fake enthusiasm in her voice. He loved his mom and he knew she loved him, but he was grateful every single day that she had left it to Zach and Shaun to raise him.

“How did it go?” she asked.

He talked to her about the ceremony for a bit and answered her questions about Lucy. When she asked if he was going to any graduation parties he answered without thinking, “Actually Dad and Pop are throwing me a party – It’s going to be amazing,” then he cringed. While he considered Zach and Shaun to be 100% his parents, he knew his mom hated it when he called them that.

“Sounds great baby,” she answered after a moment. Cody let out a sigh of relief when she didn’t kick up a fuss. “I’ve got to go. Congratulations again. Kiss Lucy and your Uncle for me,” she said, and hung up the phone.

Cody sighed, wincing when Zach turned to look at him with a worried look on his face. “You okay?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Cody answered, not wanting to talk about it. “Mom says hi – and she wanted me to give you this Luce,” he said, leaning over to plant a smacking kiss on his little sister’s cheek. Lucy giggled and grabbed his hand, pulling him close and planting a wet kiss on his cheek in return.

“Are you excited about tonight?” he asked Lucy.

“Yep” she answered, smiling brightly. “Megan said her mom bought cupcakes, and we’re gonna order pizza and watch a movie and…” Cody let his attention wander as Lucy babbled excitedly about her first ever sleepover. 

Glancing up at the front seat Cody smiled as Shaun wrapped an arm around Zach, pulling him in close. It was crazy to think that his Dad had only been a few years older than Cody was now when he and Shaun had fallen in love. Thirteen years and two kids later and they were closer than ever. 

When he was younger it had embarrassed him, how close his parents were. Every time he brought one of his friends home he had to make sure to make plenty of noise after entering the house. He couldn’t count the number of times he and his friends had walked in on the two of them going at it. Now it just made him happy, and maybe a bit envious. He could only hope he would find someone who loved him that much one day. 

As they pulled up in front of their beachside house Cody saw the distinctive yellow corvette parked out front. “Uncle Gabe!” he shouted, jumping out of the car and running into the house. “Uncle Gabe?” he called out once he got inside.

“Code-ster!” Gabe shouted, running down the hall to grab him in a bear-hug. “How’s my favorite nephew?”

“Your only nephew,” Cody gave his standard sarcastic reply. “I’m great. How are you?”

“I’m doing good kiddo. Congratulations, by the way. Everything go okay today?” Gabe asked.

“It went great,” Cody answered. “You staying for the party tonight?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” Gabe answered, bumping fists with him. “I’ve already got a stash of alcohol cooling on the beach. What your parents don’t know…”

Cody laughed. “That’s great, but I think Shaun’s already done the same thing.”

“That’s my big brother,” Gabe said, laughing. “He always did enjoy contributing to the delinquency of minors. So what all do you have planned for tonight? You sure you want us adults around?”

“Of course I do. My friends love hanging out with Zach and Shaun, and I know they’ll love you. I’m not really sure what Dad and Pop have planned for tonight – you never know with them.”

“Hey little brother,” Shaun called, walking into the kitchen and giving Gabe a hug. “How you been doing man? I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“I’m doing great. Been working overtime the last few months, but I’ve finally got a few weeks off – so you better get used to having me around. How ‘bout you?”

“Never better,” Shaun answered, turning to smile at his husband and daughter as they came inside.

“Hey Bro,” Gabe said, hugging Zach before reaching down to grab Lucy and tossing her into the air. “How’s my favorite niece?” he asked the giggling child.

“You staying tonight Gabe?” Zach asked, leaning back into Shaun’s embrace as the older man wrapped his arms around him.

“Yeah. Cody said he doesn’t mind having us ‘adults’ around. What all do you have planned?” Gabe asked.

“You’ll have to wait and see just like everyone else,” Zach answered with a smirk.

Cody couldn’t wait to see what his parents had planned. For his 18th birthday they had flown Cody and a dozen of his friends to Mexico for the weekend. He had no idea what they were planning for tonight but he knew it would be amazing.

“Who’s up for surfing?” Cody asked.

“I’m in,” all three adults answered.

“Me too!” Lucy piped up, and Cody smiled. Lucy was already pretty good at surfing.

“We’ve got to get you packed and over to Megan’s,” Shaun said, picking her up. “We can go surfing tomorrow. You guys head on out, I’ll catch up after I drop Lucy off.”

“You sure?” Zach asked. “I can do it.”

“I’ve got it,” Shaun replied, pulling his husband in close. “You go have fun babe,” he finished, kissing Zach before heading toward Lucy’s room.

“Babe?” Gabe asked, laughing.

“You – shut it,” Zach said, wagging a threatening finger at his best friend. Cody headed upstairs to change, smiling at their banter. He loved having his uncle around. Both his parents had a habit of becoming totally engrossed in their work. Even though Gabe was a workaholic himself he always made sure Zach and Shaun didn’t take their work too seriously.

Cody changed into his wetsuit and headed outside. He found Zach and Gabe already there, mock wrestling over who got the good board. Cody solved the argument by grabbing it for himself. 

As soon as he reached the water Cody felt the rest of the world fall away. His parents had taught him to surf when he was just about Lucy’s age, and he still loved it. Any time he was feeling down or had a problem, riding the waves always made him feel better. On days like today when he was already feeling great surfing brought him a sense of calm and peace that he never seemed to find anywhere else.

When the sun started to set the three of them headed in and Cody went upstairs to change. It took him several minutes to decide on what to wear for the party. When he finally headed back downstairs he overheard Gabe saying “-did you manage that? It must have cost a fuckin’ fortune man.”

“Zach did a portrait of his daughter in exchange. Don’t tell Cody,” Cody heard Shaun answer.

What on earth could his parents have done this time? he wondered. Zach’s paintings usually sold for 50-100 grand, but his portraits typically went for closer to 300 grand.

He waited a minute for them to move on to another topic then headed into the kitchen.

“You have fun surfing?” Shaun asked.

“It was awesome,” Cody answered. “Did everything go okay with Luce?” he asked.

“Yep. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her so excited. I’m just glad they’re not staying here tonight. Everything ready?” he asked as Zach walked in the room.

“Yeah, they just delivered it,” Zach answered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a tiny gift box, then opening the desk drawer and a pulling out a card. “Congratulations Cody” Zach said, hugging Cody then handing the gifts to him.

“We’re so proud of you,” Shaun added, hugging him. “We couldn’t have asked for a better son.”

Cody swallowed hard, fighting back tears. “Thanks,” he whispered, focusing on opening his presents so he wouldn’t start crying. He opened the small box first and found a single key inside. “What’s this?” he asked, confused. 

“Check out front,” Shaun said, nodding at the front door.

As soon as Cody opened the door he let out an undignified shriek and ran into the driveway. “Oh my God, it’s gorgeous” he shouted, gently stroking his hand over the fender of the ice blue Aston Martin X class. “The guys are never gonna believe this. You guys are the best,” Cody said, imagining his friends’ envious expressions when they saw the car. “I need to call Jason,” he said, reaching for his cell.

“Open the other one first,” Shaun said.

Opening the card he found two first class tickets to London inside. “No way,” he shouted. “You guys are awesome!”

“Don’t get too excited,” Zach said dryly. “Your Aunt Tori has agreed to stay with Lucy, so Shaun and I will be coming with you. We’ll try to leave you alone for the most part, but the only way Jason’s parents would agree was if you were chaperoned. We have an appointment set up with a travel agent next week so the two of you can plan out where you want to go.”

“Thank you guys,” Cody said solemnly. “Seriously, you guys are the best.”

Cody turned to grin at Gabe as he whistled enviously from the doorway. “She’s gorgeous,” he said approvingly. “Fully loaded?” he asked Shaun.

“Of course,” Shaun answered. “Only the best for my boy.”

“I’m gonna call Jason,” Cody said, pulling out his cell phone and hitting speed dial one as he headed up to his room. “Jase?” he said as soon as his friend picked up. “You’ll never believe what Zach and Shaun got me…”

Cody spent the next hour talking to an ecstatic Jason about where in Europe they wanted to go until Zach’s voice echoed down the hallway “Cody, your friends are going to start arriving any minute. Get your butt down here.”

“I gotta go Jase. Head over now, okay?”

Over the next twenty minutes it felt like half his graduating class arrived. At 9:15 Shaun gathered them all together in the foyer and said “First of all, congratulations to all of you” and everyone cheered. “Okay here’s the deal, we have everything set up out on the beach. There are basketball and volleyball courts set up, as well as a casino of sorts. Zach’s got score cards for everyone – pick them up before you head outside. Each game is worth a certain number of points. At the end of the night we have prizes for everyone – whoever has the most points chooses first, second places chooses second, and so on. We have a band scheduled to come in at ten – no I’m not going to tell you who you’ll have to wait and see,” he said seeing the curiosity on their faces. 

Cody’s mind raced, trying to figure out who his parents had gotten to play. He figured that Zach must have traded a portrait in exchange for the band tonight.

“I’m sure this won’t be an issue,” Shaun said, raising an eyebrow, “But if anyone chooses to engage in any – let’s say risky behavior – please stay out of the water – it’s too dark to see anyone who might be in trouble. Finally,” Shaun finished “We promised the neighbor’s we would have everything wrapped up by 3, so you all have 5 ½ hours to party. Have fun.”

Cody followed his friends outside and looked around, amazed at what his parents had managed to accomplish in the hour he’d been talking to Jason. There were dozens of tables set up for poker, blackjack, roulette, and other casino games he didn’t recognize, each one with a dealer. A stage was set up straight out from the house with a large dance floor cleared out in front of it. A group of kids were already headed for the basketball court, and two volleyball courts were set up, as well as areas set aside for frisbee, soccer, and football. The whole set up looked like it covered over a mile of the beach. 

“Dude, how’d your parents get your neighbors to give up their backyards for this?” Jason asked, looking down the beach.

“I have no idea,” Cody answered, just as amazed as his friend. “Where do you want to start?”

“Volleyball,” Jason answered. “Hey, which band is coming?”

“I don’t know,” Cody answered, following him to one of the courts. “They didn’t even tell me they’d gotten a band to play.”

Cody spent the next 40 minutes playing volleyball with a group of guys who had been on the baseball team with him at school until the lights on the court suddenly went out. “Ladies and Gentlemen,” a booming voice announced, and everyone dropped what they were doing to head for the now brightly lit stage. “Please welcome Nemesis.”

“No way!” Cody shouted, his voice lost in the excited screams of his classmates. Nemesis was the hottest band in the music industry. They had won pretty much every music award that existed over the past two years. 

An hour later Cody followed Jason from the dance floor, both of them sweating like crazy and dying of thirst. “This way,” Cody said, leading his friend down the beach. “Here,” he said, opening a cooler and handing Jason a beer. “Shaun hid them here earlier,” he answered his friends questioning look as he opened his own.

“Your parents are the best,” Jason said, downing his beer in a few swallows and grabbing another. They could still hear the band playing, so they stayed there for a while to catch their breath. After they had finished three beers each they decided to head over and check out the casino area. Cody had no luck at blackjack, but he did fairly well at the roulette table. 

“Dude, I gotta pee,” Jason said half an hour later.

“Yeah me too,” Cody decided, following his friend toward the house. They made their way, stumbling a bit, up the stairs to Cody’s room. After using the restroom the two of them headed back downstairs. 

“Dude, don’t they ever stop?” Jason asked suddenly as they walked through the living room, headed back to the beach.

Cody looked over to find Zach and Shaun making out on the couch. “No,” he answered with a smile, thinking that he wouldn’t have it any other way.


End file.
